(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a deformable touch screen, and more particularly, to a deformable touch screen that combines a touch screen with proximity sensing and tactile feedback technology to provide an improved user interface.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, an interface between machine and a user, that is, a human machine interface (HMI) has evolved from a conventional button type interface to a touch screen interface type. The largest reason of the change is because the button input type cannot completely satisfy the diverse needs and convenience of the user. In contrast, the touch screen input type provides a flexible esthetic appearance that has the advantage of being able to transmit a large amount of information to the user. This differs significantly from a conventional button type interface, in which the interface does not transmit a significant amount of information to the user. Accordingly, in many vehicles a touch screen is used as an HMI device for many electronic devices within the vehicle. Unfortunately, the touch screen interface is primarily visual in nature, and unlike the conventional button type input interface, conventional touch screens do not provide tactile feedback to the user. This represents a significant disadvantage because it forces the user, in this case the driver of the vehicle, to take their eyes off of the road in order to use the HMI.
The inability of conventional touch screens to provide tactile feedback to the user represents a significant problem for current vehicle designs because the modern trend is to use a “full touch screen” approach as an HMI to control most, if not all, user controllable functions within a vehicle (e.g., an air conditioner, a radio, navigation system, etc.). In this case, as described above, in order to control basic operations and functions of the vehicle, the user will be required to take their eyes off of the road at an unacceptably high frequency with an HMI that is based on a conventional touch screen. This increases the risk of an accident while driving the vehicle. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for a touch screen that provides tactile feedback to the user for use as an HMI to control vehicle functions so that the need for the driver to take their eyes off of the road will be minimized